The Empress Arrives: Rebirth of Concubine Hua

Chapter 116: Settlement

Yinzhen originally wanted to refuse outright, but when he thought about the fact that there were not many women in the backyard, and now two of them were under house arrest, it would not sound good if it got out, so he replied.

"Duan is naive, but she is still young, and she is proud of her first pregnancy. Since the wife has asked for mercy for her, we should choose a day to release her from house arrest, and also release Hu from house arrest. Qi will be coming to the mansion next month, and we should add some joy to the mansion."

After seeing Yinzhen off, Ulanara stared at the sky in a daze for a while.

The sky in late October quietly lost its brightness, and all that was left was a gloomy atmosphere of impending snow and wind.

Qiu Mei gathered the hand warmer, handed it to Ulanara, and straightened her clothes, saying.

"Tomorrow is the day when winter clothes are distributed in the mansion. Should the master's "illness" be cured by then?"

Ulanara held the hand warmer in both hands and chuckled.

"Yes, you have been "sick" for the past few days. Thank you for your hard work, Concubine. Go and tell Concubine later that you will ask her to sort out the accounts of the farm from tomorrow. It has been more than ten days, and the accounts should be sorted out by now."

After Nian Shilan had lunch, Songzhi brought out a bright cloak. The cloak was light purple and made of the finest Huanhua brocade. It made Nian Shilan's fair skin look even more delicate.

"Master, I asked the embroidery room to make this cloak. The weather is getting colder day by day, and Qiu Mei said that Fu Jin has recovered from her illness. You can wear this cloak to pay your respects tomorrow, and it will keep you warm."

Nian Shilan looked out the window at the approaching winter scene and suddenly realized that it had only been more than a year since she was reborn, but it seemed that many things had changed invisibly.

Yesterday, Xiao Linzi said that Nian Gengyao had gone to war again, and it was almost the end of the year. Nian Shilan recalled this time in her previous life. When Nian Gengyao came back, it would be the end of March when the flowers were blooming, and it would be time for promotions. But she didn't know how far Yinzhen had progressed.

An San received the secret order and quietly appeared in Yinzhen's study.

"An San greets His Majesty, may His Majesty be blessed."

Yinzhen looked at An San who was kneeling on one knee in front of him to salute, twirling the fan in his hand, and spoke in a cold voice.

"Recently, I haven't seen you take the initiative to report to me. Why is that?"

An San remained calm and composed.

"Reporting to the prince, I have been following your instructions and have been sleeping on the beams every day to protect the concubine's safety. Since the prince and the concubine have jointly dealt with Han Lu, I have not found any unusual movements in Cheng'en Garden."

Yinzhen sneered.

"You are quite smart. How do you know that this prince and his concubine have teamed up?"

An San knelt there without moving.

"Reporting to the prince, this is my guess. When the prince asked me to look after Cheng'en Garden, the prince had already discovered Han Lu's identity. Later, when I was sleeping on the beam, I heard the concubine talking to the servants. I realized that even a smart concubine like her had some suspicions about Han Lu's identity."

Yinzhen put down his fan, leaned forward and looked at An San.

"You know, it is disrespectful to secretly spy on the master's mind. The emperor gave you to me, so you are my people. Your life and death are in my hands. Therefore, the only way to save your life is to be loyal. Do you understand?"

An San lowered his head.

"Yes! I am loyal to you, my Lord!"

Yinzhen leaned back, examined Ansan for a moment, and let him go.

"Get up. You'd better be as loyal as you say. You are smart. Do your job well."

An San kowtowed again and stood up. Yin Zhen looked at An San's disappearing figure and said calmly.

"Your figure seems to have changed recently. I guess it's because the food at Concubine's place is too good."

An San paused, turned around and stood in the dark, and replied.

"I will pay attention to it."

Yinzhen waved his hand and sent An San away. Xiao Linzi left the house with a pair of cards after lunch today, saying that she was ordered by Concubine Jin to buy some rouge and powder.

Jiang Fuhai reported to Ulanara in Xingfu Courtyard.

"Master, I checked the records and found that Xiao Linzi, a servant of Cheng'en Garden, has to go out of the mansion every month. He said that the rouge used by the concubine in the mansion made her face itchy, so he took his share of the money and went to Xianzi Tower in the city to buy the best rouge and powder. I don't know why the concubine's rouge and powder are used up so quickly. Master, do you think we should check this matter?"

Ulanara said.

"From a normal point of view, this matter is indeed strange. Find someone to follow the servant and see where else he goes besides Xianzi Tower."

"Come on, I'll go right away."

Jiang Fuhai went downstairs to find someone to follow Xiao Linzi.

Xiao Linzi walked through the palace gate today, holding a pass to leave the palace. He didn't even change his clothes in the palace. He strolled leisurely through the streets.

The person who followed him hung far behind Xiao Linzi and watched him buy himself a candied haws and two meat buns that had just come out of the pot.

The meat bun seemed to be too hot, and Xiao Linzi couldn't hold it. It turned back and forth in his hands a few times and fell to the ground. Before Xiao Linzi could pick it up, it was taken away by the dog that had been following him.

An angry Xiao Linzi chased the dog and ran into an alley. When the person who followed him ran into the alley, Xiao Linzi was nowhere to be seen.

The man thought he had been fooled, so he took a shortcut and went directly to Xianzi Tower. He planned to wait for Xiao Linzi in a hidden corner outside the building to see if he really went to Xianzi Tower.

As a result, as soon as the man turned the corner, he saw Xiao Linzi squatting on the ground outside Xianzi Building, staring at another dog in front of him. Upon closer inspection, the dog was smacking its lips with satisfaction. It must have picked up Xiao Linzi's other bun.

The waiter at Xianzilou carefully advised Xiao Linzi.

"Don't be angry, young master. This beast doesn't care about that. When it sees the meat buns, it will pounce on them desperately. Are you going to buy rouge again this time? Come in quickly. We have new products. Take a look!"

Xiao Linzi walked into Xianzi Building angrily.

After waiting for an incense stick, he came out again. The shopkeeper of Xianzilou personally carried a bag of things to Xiao Linzi and sent this important customer away with a smile.

On the way back home, Xiao Linzi bought a few more meat buns and put them happily in his arms. This time, there was no Gouzi following him, so he returned home in a hurry.

The guard saw Xiao Linzi coming back and flirted with him.

"Eunuch Lin is back so early today."

Xiao Linzi took out a meat bun from his arms and gave one to each of them, saying with a smile.

"Brothers, you are too polite. What's the use of calling me father-in-law? Just call me Xiao Linzi. I am only a few years old. How can I be worthy of being a father-in-law?"

The guard also took the bun with a smile and let Xiao Linzi in.

In Xingfu Courtyard, Ulanara listened to Jiang Fuhai's report of today's situation and felt that something was wrong, so she had to speak.

"Forget it, it seems I was worrying too much. I heard that Xianzilou was newly opened last year and sells cosmetics. You can ask the housekeeper to buy some for it later."

Xiao Linzi leaned close to Nian Shilan's ear and whispered.

"Master, Yuluo is indeed not dead. She is at a nearby farm. Shopkeeper Wu has already asked people to keep an eye on her. What should we do next?"

Nian Shilan casually used the lid of the teacup to stir the tea.

"No need to do anything. Just keep an eye on her first. I want to see what Fu-jin can do by keeping her alive. It just so happens that I will settle the accounts of this farm with her."

　Does anyone still remember Yu Luo? That slave girl who wanted to climb into the bed was beaten up by Hua Pang Pang and is about to show up again!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)